Inside Iron Mountain’s vision for net-zero and next-gen data centers

Real-time data and analytics are being leveraged to optimize power and cooling efficiency, reducing waste and improving performance. In India, Iron Mountain is making strong progress toward its 2040 carbon neutrality goal, supported by initiatives like the Green Power Pass and circular economy programs. Beyond compliance, responsible operations are defined by energy efficiency, water stewardship, and sustainable design, key to supporting India’s digital transformation while reducing environmental impact.

Rajesh Tapadia, CEO, Iron Mountain- Data Centres, India, spoke with V&D about Iron Mountain’s comprehensive approach to sustainable data center operations, emphasizing environmental responsibility, innovation, and strategic growth. He explained the company’s global vision to integrate sustainability at every stage, from design to daily operations, through initiatives like 100% renewable energy usage, hourly carbon-free energy matching, and green building certifications.He also emphasized on how emerging technologies such as AI, edge, and quantum computing are driving smarter infrastructure and energy-efficient cooling solutions and much more. Have a look at the excerpts from the interaction: 

What is your long-term vision for sustainability across your data center operations? 

Globally, Iron Mountain’s long-term vision for sustainable data center operations is built on the principle that environmental responsibility must be deeply integrated into every stage of the data center lifecycle, from initial design and construction to ongoing operations and energy sourcing. A core pillar of this vision is the shift towards hourly-matched carbon-free energy, ensuring that renewable sources power operations every hour of every day. We are working towards meeting and exceeding leading global benchmarks such as the Climate-Neutral Data Center Pact, with a strong focus on achieving best-in-class Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) across facilities. Globally, all new developments are designed to secure green building certification, such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) for most of our portfolio or local standards like IGBC in India.

Iron Mountain is also investing in next-generation solutions such as battery storage integration, on-site solar and tidal power generation, and renewable backup fuels. These efforts directly enhance Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE). This operational approach is reinforced by strong governance structures, including executive-level oversight, detailed sustainability reporting, and alignment with global environmental frameworks.

Sustainable growth is more than environmental responsibility, it’s a strategic imperative that enhances resilience, delivers long-term cost savings, and boosts confidence among investors and stakeholders.

How are emerging technologies—like AI, edge computing, and quantum computing shaping your data center strategy? 

Emerging technologies like AI, edge computing, and quantum computing are evolving the data center industry and driving a demand for capacity and power. This necessitates building smarter data center campuses with higher power density, which in turn requires advanced cooling solutions, such as liquid cooling. At Iron Mountain we are prioritizing sustainability, exploring alternate power sources and behind-the-meter power solutions to meet the energy requirements while ensuring reliability and a reduced environmental footprint. Ultimately, these technologies are pushing us to innovate in infrastructure design and operations to support the future of computing, all while maintaining strict oversight through continuous data tracking and detection to uphold security and regulatory compliance.

How are you leveraging data and analytics to optimise energy and resource efficiency in real time? 

At Iron Mountain, energy efficiency is central to responsible data center operations and a key pillar of our sustainability strategy. Our facilities are equipped with advanced sensors and analytics that monitor power usage, cooling performance, and environmental conditions in real time. This allows us to optimise power distribution, improve airflow management, and dynamically adjust cooling setpoints to prevent waste, reduce PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), and maintain peak performance. This efficiency-first thinking ensures that power consumption doesn't scale proportionally with growing data demand.

What differentiates your data center business in an increasingly competitive and globalised market? 

Iron Mountain combines robust sustainability, uncompromising compliance, and strategic expansion to meet India’s fast-growing data needs. We are pioneering the use of 100% renewable energy across our Indian data centers and industry-leading initiatives like the Green Power Pass give customers the ability to include the power they consume at any Iron Mountain data center as green power in their sustainability reporting.

Our new builds in India will meet IGBC standards, while advanced cooling, waste reduction, and solar innovations enhance efficiency for Indian enterprises pursuing both local agility and global performance.

Iron Mountain’s data center portfolio in India offers 14 MW of capacity across six data centers strategically located in five key Indian markets: Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Noida. Iron Mountain is actively developing three new campus locations situated in Mumbai, Chennai, and Noida. These sites collectively have nearly 152 MW of potential capacity, significantly enhancing capacity and ability to serve the burgeoning digital and AI needs of customers across the country.

What progress have you made towards achieving sustainability or net-zero targets? 

At Iron Mountain, sustainability is integral to our purpose and strategy. We are operationalising our 2040 carbon neutrality commitment across the business and our progress is grounded in a clear, measurable roadmap. As mentioned in the previous answer, we are pioneering the use of 100% renewable energy across our Indian data centers, enabling both Iron Mountain and our customers to achieve meaningful progress towards net zero. Through initiatives like the Green Power Pass, we are also empowering organisations to transparently track and report their renewable energy use, supporting rigorous ESG mandates and public accountability. 

Across the business more broadly, our vision for a circular economy is realised through industry-leading IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and Secure Shredding programmes. These ensure that information assets are responsibly recycled, repurposed, or securely destroyed. Every tonne of paper we shred and recycle is a step toward reducing environmental impact and supporting India’s broader sustainability agenda. 

We work together with partners to transition from resource-intensive, paper-based systems to agile, digital operations. This unlocks efficiencies and dramatically lowers carbon footprints.

What do ‘responsible data center operations’ mean to you, beyond compliance?

As India accelerates its digital transformation, responsible data center practices are paramount. Responsible data center practices are crucial for mitigating environmental and compliance risks, while also positioning India as a credible, future-ready destination for global digital infrastructure investments. Embedding principles like energy efficiency, water stewardship, strong data governance, and sustainable design into the core of data center strategy is essential.